


Legend Says

by OccupationLove



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: F/F, Siren song, but it's how it goes here, curiosity...makes a friend?, human!Monika, it's not a retelling, kind of little mermaid esque, mermaid au, mermaid!Amelia, not severely though, that's not how that saying goes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-31
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2019-07-04 20:45:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15849036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OccupationLove/pseuds/OccupationLove
Summary: Amelia didn't listen to a lot of things. Her sister trying to keep her away from the buoys at the beach, for example, was never something that she really believed had weight. The stories the elders at home told also didn't seem real to her. Until, maybe, they were.





	Legend Says

**Author's Note:**

> Gerame Day 4 Entry 2

"She flitted through the water as fast as she could go, knowing that she’d win the race. There was no way someone as stuck in the mud as her older sister would catch up to her so quickly and there was nothing to stop her from weaving through the shore as she went. It was faster to make the turn nearer to the island so she veered slightly to her left, just close enough to the buoys that she could see the legs of the humans moving back and forth as they tried to stay afloat. She redirected her eyes toward her own lower-half. A tail moved below her and propelled her forward and for a moment she wondered what it would be like to be able to go ashore with them.  
  
    She was still looking away when she swam head first into one of the buoys and ricocheted off of it. Amelia held a hand to her head in an attempt to soothe the pain just before she noticed the small girl just above the water clinging to the buoy for dear life. The girl’s eyes were fixed on her even through the surface of the water. She looked like she was the same age as her but she wasn’t sure how humans aged if she was being honest.  
  
    Amelia was going to swim away--she swore she was going to swim away; she knew it was dangerous to let the humans see her--but then she saw the fear in the other girl’s eyes and she popped her head above the water, “Are you okay?”  
  
    The girl’s lip was trembling--no, scratch that her whole body was trembling, “I-I can’t swim.”  
  
    She looked toward the shore, it didn’t seem like it was that far away, surely she could make it, “How’d you get out here?”  
  
    The other girl shook her head, “I swam. But lots of water got in my mouth and it hurt and I’m scared and I can’t swim back.”  
  
    Amelia held a hand up to her, “Do you need help? I’m Amelia, what’s your name?”  
  
    She reached for her hand, tentatively, “It’s Monika.”  
  
    Within seconds, she splashed into the water, clinging to her with extreme strength, “Okay! Let’s get you back to safety!”  
  
    Monika nodded and tried to kick her feet, accidentally running her feet over Amelia’s tail. She squealed and brought her feet closer to her chest, “I’m sorry. I forgot you were a mermaid.”  
  
    Amelia smiled and made a shushing motion, “You can’t tell anybody though.”  
  
    Monika nodded and lowered her feet again this time watching as she intentionally touched her foot against Ames’ tail. She made a concerned face and blinked over at her, “You’re cold.”  
  
    She flicked her tail and moved them forward, “Am I? I feel warm.”  
  
    Monika nodded, “You’re really cold. How old are you?”  
  
    Amelia blinked back at her but continued swimming, “I’m six.”  
  
    Monika grinned wide enough to show that she was missing three teeth, “Me too!”  
  
    So, perhaps humans aged the same as merfolk after all. Eventually, she felt her tail hit the sand and she let go of the girl clinging to her side, “I think you can stand now. Try not to get lost on the buoy again.”  
  
    Monika nodded, seriousness in her eyes, “I won’t! Thank you, Amelia!”  
  
    She smiled and waved before diving under the water again; she needed to finish her race.  
  
    She swam as fast as she could possibly go in the hopes that Alice wouldn’t already be at the reef. There was no way that she could see Amelia coming from the side closer to the shore; if she did--  
  
    “What do you think you’re doing?! First, you swam off like some kind of maniac leaving me to come catch and now you were near the humans?! Amelia, you know the dangers that are involved! If even one saw you then we’re all in grave danger, young lady. I hope you know that you aren’t leaving the fortress for ages!”  
  
    She knew better than to protest, that only ever got her in more trouble. Fortunately, she also knew that Alice would get annoyed enough with her eventually and let her off the hook with nothing but a short lecture.

* * *

 

    The summer that she turned nineteen, she swam by the buoys again, this time in search of lost human jewelry and other treasures. To her surprise, she could see a familiar face clinging to one of the buoys again. She pushed her head above the water without thinking about it, “I thought you said you weren’t going to get stuck on the buoy again.”  
  
    Monika did a double take before rubbing at her chin as if she were considering something, “You’re real. Or I’m asleep again. Either way, I’m not stuck.”  
  
    Amelia tilted her head to the side, “I’m real, yes. What do you mean?”  
  
    Monika smiled before diving into the water head first. The second she came up for air she came closer, “I can swim.”  
  
    Amelia hummed and watched as the other girl’s eyes dilated, “That’s an improvement.”  
  
    Monika shook her head as if she were clearing some sort of fog, “Yeah. Your voice is really pretty.”  
  
    Oh. She had forgotten the origin stories of her people. But that was only supposed to happen with...oh. Amelia smiled as brightly as she could, “I see. That’s interesting information. Thank you. Do you need help getting back to shore?”  
  
    Monika grinned, “No, I can swim just fine, thank you.”  
  
    She nodded and crossed her arms, watching as Monika’s eyes followed the motion for a moment before embarrassedly looking away, “And what’re you all the way out here for?”  
  
    Monika held up an arm, “I dropped my bracelet. I was trying to find it.”  
  
    Amelia held out all of the jewelry she had found, “Is it any of these?”  
  
    The other girl scanned the shiny items in her hand before solemnly shaking her head, “No. It’s blue; my brother gave it to me.”  
  
    Amelia looked down at the seafloor, “And you dropped it around here?”  
  
    She nodded, “Just off the buoy. I stopped for a rest and it came off.”  
  
    She thrust the other treasures she had at Monika, “Hold these, I’ll be back.”  
  
    Monika barely had time to catch what was given to her before Amelia dived below the surface and began looking for a blue bracelet. She scanned the sand below the buoy careful not to miss anything that had been even partially buried due to the tides. It took her three sweeps before she saw the glimmer of something a few feet away. She picked it up and returned to her human friend, “Is this it.”  
  
    Monika’s eyes lit up, “Yes! Thank you!”  
  
    Amelia laughed, “You’re welcome. Can I have all the others back?”  
  
    That seemed to bother the other girl, “But what if they belong to somebody at the beach?”  
  
    She raised an eyebrow, “Well if they come looking for them I’ll give them back. Otherwise, they must not be very important. After all, one doesn’t easily give up on something they care about.”  
  
    Monika sighed, “Okay. I guess...I guess you’re right. What’re you going to do with them?”  
  
    She blinked, “Well, you humans add all kind of decoration to yourselves. My people do too but it’s much different. I thought that I might be able to combine the two and make something even prettier.”  
  
    That earned her a full grin, Monika wasn’t missing any teeth this time, “That sounds interesting.”  
  
    She didn’t have time to respond before Monika’s eyes were dilating just barely as she heard the call of her sister in the distance. Amelia dropped all of the jewelry and started swimming, “I’ve got to go.”  
  
    She tried to make her way back as fast as possible. Luckily, this time, she made it around the corner before Alice noticed where she had come from, “Where have you been? You know Madeline has been looking for you everywhere! You two are supposed to be celebrating together, you know.”  
  
    Amelia grinned, “I’ll be right there! I was just exploring over here. Have you ever noticed how shiny the grains of sand are over here? The sun hits them just right, don’t you think?”  
  
    Alice scoffed, “I swear you’re so empty-minded. Come on.”

* * *

       When she returned to collect what she had dropped that night, Monika was still there--or perhaps she had left and returned--and was sitting on one of the surfboards that Amelia associated with humankind. Amelia swam below her before making a loop and popping her head back above the water, “What’re you still doing here?”  
  
    Monika blinked down at her looking slightly dazed, “I have questions.”  
  
    Amelia propped her chin on the board, “ And what would those be?”  
  
    Monika smiled, “Earlier, you hummed and I could think straight. And when you left it sounded like someone was singing in the distance and it was distracting. I was..wondering...I’m not sure if this is offensive, um, are your people--do they get called sirens, often?”  
  
    She looked out over the water, imagining the ships that might have been crashed there in earlier times, “Not since the times when Odysseus would have been crossing the sea. It’s been a long time since your people gave up the term siren for 'mermaid'. We prefer merfolk--or at least most of my friends do--there are some that feel like there’s power in claiming the term siren, however. You are an interesting case, you know. There aren’t many that experience even a portion of the song and live through it. Or not in a conventional sense anyway. Beyond that, I’m not sure I know of any women that have been called. Our “mermen” as you call them, generally stay below the waves.”  
  
    Monika nodded, “I see. So the singing is more of a female profession?”  
  
    She smiled, “Just like sailing is a primarily male profession for your people. It’s no coincidence.”  
  
    The other girl seemed to understand, looking considerate as she rubbed at her mouth, “I see.”  
  
    Amelia shrugged and swam a circle around the surfboard, “It isn’t that our men cannot sing or draw people in. It’s just that, in the times that we were known for the songs, there were not very many women that made their way far enough into our territories for them to be given the opportunity. However, I suppose there have always been some sailors that didn’t fall for the song when our women sang it. So, perhaps, it might’ve been more effective to bring a few men along after all.”  
  
    Monika blinked, “Wait--are you--are you saying that the draw of the song depends on sexuality?”  
  
    She laughed, “Of course! How would you attract a man that was only attracted to men? It’s quite impossible if we get down to it. The song is powerful but even it cannot change someone’s nature.”  
  
    Monika’s face turned pink, “O-oh. I see.”  
  
    Amelia propped her chin back on the board, “So, you see, there are no secrets here.”  
  
    She sighed, “Alright. Although, I’m not really sure why my--who I’m attracted to is relevant in this conversation.”  
  
    She shrugged before blinking wide-eyed up at Monika, “Do you have any more questions?”  
  
    She opened her mouth like there was but closed it just as fast with a shake of the head. Amelia smiled, “So, can I ask a question?”  
  
    Monika nodded.  
  
    “What do your people say happens when the song draws the sailors in?”  
  
    Monika’s eyebrows furrowed together, “Well, the boats crash and all the men on board get eaten, typically. Or at least that’s what the legends say.”  
  
    Amelia snorted, having already known the answer but still amused by it, “Of course that how the legends go. You know, you humans have this habit of villainizing things you don’t understand. That’s not what happens. Although, I can’t say I agree with what actually happens either. The song is sung if a sailor’s boat comes too close to our homes or something precious to us. In the old stories, they were usually too close to our nurseries. Our children.  We cannot risk damage to future generations as there are not very many of us in the world at any given time. My people have always preferred smaller groups and they are not very good at reproducing at a normal rate. Which is why, first off, that we’ve always been jumpy about protecting children and also the other reason why we sing. You see, statistically speaking there are more females in my world than yours. Oftentimes we outnumber men six to one. But we’re magical creatures...and you humans...are very susceptible to magic. All we have to do is call you into the water and breathe life into you. The song...is like a lullaby...to soothe the panic that would happen, were you aware of the...transformation, I guess.”  
  
    Monika stared at her mouth gaping, “You’re saying that human beings like me can become mermaids?”  
  
    Amelia grinned, “Yes, exactly. Though, it’s a practice we increasingly try to avoid as the years go on. That’s where the stories about coming out of the water and having legs come from. Or that’s where they come from for my people anyway. I don’t know where they came from for yours. But anyway there’s this theory that when a mermaid who has human ancestry goes ashore we turn back into humans. It’s some old magic tale about human blood being stronger than merfolk.”  
  
    Monika leaned in curiously, “Is it true?”  
  
    That--she had never actually considered, “I--don’t know. I’ve never seen anyone go ashore. It’s an old story.”  
  
    Monika looked slightly disappointed, “Oh well, I just--I was going to suggest you come ashore so I could show you the stuff I see every day.”  
  
    She hummed without thinking about it and Monika hopped into the water with her. She halted the sound and pushed the surfboard back toward her human companion, “Stay safe. I’ll be back.”  
  
    She swam loops on the ocean floor, trying to decide whether or not it was worth it to try. What if she got ashore and nothing happened and she was hurt. What if she did change and she never changed back? Would she see Alice and Maddy again? On the other hand, would she be able to continue interacting with Monika if she didn’t go ashore? She probably shouldn’t have come back for the jewelry. Or ever started a conversation with the girl. But there was something so fascinating and compelling about her. She sighed deeply and darted for the shore. She only had to make it out of the water.  
  
    Within seconds, she found herself laying on the cooling sand of the beach and staring at her tail. She honestly didn’t know whether she wanted the change or not. She didn’t even know if any of her ancestors had been human, to be fair. Maybe she wasn’t even qualified for it.  
  
    She noticed Monika start swimming toward her at the same time she noticed the pinpricks in her tail. She gasped, “Ow! Oh! Ow, ow, ow. That’s not a pleasant feeling.”  
  
    She was going to start dragging herself back toward the water when she saw the glimmer of magic around her tail. It looked like when one of her people enchanted a stone or shell to carry luck. She watched in fascination as the glimmer faded and legs replaced her tail, “Oh.”  
  
    Monika was on foot by that point, “Are you okay?”  
  
    Amelia stared in wonder as she wiggled her feet, “I--I have legs.”  
  
    Monika stopped in her tracks and gave her an uncertain smile, “I suppose the stories have some value. Although, if you’re going to come look around, you are going to need some clothes. It isn’t safe for you to be bare in my world.”  
  
    Amelia tilted her head to the side, familiar with the concept but not quite understanding it, “You mean the fabric you cover yourself with? Isn’t it constricting?”  
  
    Monika laughed, “I suppose you would think it was yes but I’m quite used to it.”  
  
    She smiled and pushed herself, somewhat unstable, to a standing position, “Where would I get said clothes?”  
  
    Monika’s eyes lit up, “I’ll go get some! Stay here! Try not to be seen.”  
  
    She nodded and watched as her companion traveled further away from the shore. Eventually, she lost sight of her, refocused her eyes on the water, and smiled; she wondered what her sisters would say about her adventure; they never did believe in the stories.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! All kudos and comments are appreciated <3


End file.
